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COPYKIGHT DKTOSIT. 




ISAAC LOCKHART PEEBLES 



CANNOT AND CAN 
FALL FROM GRACE 



BY ISAAC LOCKHART PEEBLES 

Of the Mississippi Conference 



Nashville, Tenn. 

Dallas, Tex. ; Richmond, Va. 

Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South 

Smith & Lamar, Agents 

1914 



15 Tim 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 191 4 

By Isaac L. Peebles 
In the Oflace of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington 



JUNI2i9l4 

^Ci.A376274 I 



PEEFACE. 



I HAVE written this pamphlet with the 
hope of fully posting and settling all lovers 
of the truth on a very important Scriptural 
doctrine. In order to do this it will be seen 
that I adopted a style that is most convinc- 
ing. At least it appears that way to me. I 
wish to say that it is a style I received from 
our Holy Father in answer to my prayer to 
him. Owing to the conduct of a minister of 
another Church in my pulpit, while I was 
absent on a certain Sunday, it became nec- 
essary for me to reply to him on a doctrinal 
question. Knowing that every one who is 
not an infidel quotes from the Scriptures, and 
even infidels too, I went into a certain woods 
and knelt before God and earnestly asked 
him to give me light as to how to discuss 
controverted questions so as to post and set- 
tle those on the right side of the same and 
to convince those who were wrong; and just 
as soon as I finished my prayer, feeling sure 

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4 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

that God would answer me^ this rule came to 
me: "Every Scriptural doctrine is in harmony 
with the Scriptures, and we can know that 
it is in harmony with the Scriptures by our 
being able to explain intelligently all Scrip- 
tures which seem to be against it, and har- 
monize them with those directly in its fa- 
vor/' Also when controversy makes two 
sides to any Scriptural subject, "the side that 
can explain the Scriptures and points of the 
opposite side more intelligently than that side 
can its own Scriptures and points, then that 
side is the Scriptural side," To God my 
Holy Father and to my blessed Savior and 
Holy Ghost be all the glory and honor for 
any good my writings may result in. 

Isaac Lockhart Peebles. 
Meridian, Miss., March 19, 1914. 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

I. Apostasy and Its Meaning. 7 

n. Controversy Has Made Two Sides to Apos- 
tasy 8 

in. The Scriptures of the Side That One Cannot 

Fall from Grace So as to Be Lost 9 

IV. The Points Made by the Side That One 

Cannot Fall from Grace 24 

V. The Scriptures of the Side of Falling from 

Grace 34 

VI. Points Made by Falling from Grace for Its 

Defense 40 

VII. The Tendency of the Doctrine That One 

Cannot Fall and Be Lost Forever 48 

Vni. The Tendency of the Doctrine That One 

Can Fall and Be Lost Forever 51 

IX. Which Doctrine, if Believed and Lived, 
Will Finally Place Us in Heaven, Even 
if It Should Be False in the End of Life? 53 
X. The Devil Was the First to Preach That 

One Cannot Fall 58 

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yi 



CAI^J^OT AND CAN FALL 
FROM GRACE. 



I. Apostasy and Its Meajsting. 

The word apostasy does not occur at all 
in our English version of the Bible; in the 
Greek Bible we have for apostasy apostasia^ 
apostasisy apostemi^ and apostateo. These 
words are used in different senses in the 
Greek Bible. Apostasia occurs seven times, 
five times in the Old Testament and twice in 
the New Testament. It is said to be a late 
form of apostasisj which occurs only four 
times in the Old Testament and not at all in 
the N^ew Testament. The verb apostemi oc- 
curs one hundred and seventy-three times in 
the Greek Bible, one hundred and fifty- 
eight times in the Old Testament and fifteen 
times in the l^ew Testament. Apostateo oc- 
curs four times in the Old Testament and 
not at all in the New Testament. 

The word apostasy is from two Greek 

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8 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

words, and they are apo (from) and stenai 
or hestanai (to depart, to fall, to stand), lit- 
erally meaning to stand from, to depart 
from, to fall from, etc. It means to fall any 
degree from God. It means to fall from 
God so completely as to be lost forever. 

II. COKTROYEKSY HaS MadE TwO SiDES 

TO THE Subject of Apostasy. 

One side is that one cannot fall from 
grace so as to be lost forever, and the other 
is that one may fall from grace so complete- 
ly as to be lost forever; and, therefore, since 
there are two sides to this question, it be- 
comes us to state each side, and then quote 
the strongest Scriptures each side has, and 
then cite the strongest points each has, and 
let each side debate them, and by such a 
method we shall be able to decide intelli- 
gently which side is the Scriptural side. 
The wisdom and fairness of such a course 
will appear when we remember that the side 
that can explain the Scriptures and points 
of the other side more intelligently than that 
side can those of its opposite side, that side, 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 9 

in all fairness and truth, is the Scriptural 
side. In other words, the side that can ex- 
plain the Scriptures and points of its oppos- 
ing side more intelligently than its opposing 
side can explain its own Scriptures and 
points, that side is, without doubt, the Scrip- 
tural side. ]^ow let us in the fear of God 
and by his grace see which side is the Scrip- 
tural side. 

III. The Scriptures oe the Side That 
0]S"E CA]sr]sroT Lose His Eeligmon* or 
Fall erom Grace ai^b Be Lost For- 
ever. 

The side that claims one cannot lose his 
religion or fall from grace and be lost for- 
ever says to the side that claims that one 
can lose his religion or fall from grace and 
be lost forever: ^^Listen to what the Bible 
declares concerning this matter: ^The steps 
of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and 
he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, 
he shall not be utterly cast down: for the 
Lord upholdeth him with his hand.' [Ps. 
xxxvii. 23, 24.] Do you not see that God 



10 Cannot and Can Fall prom Grace. 

not only orders the steps of a good man and 
delighteth in his way, but will see to it that 
if he should fall he shall not remain fallen, 
but will come back again all right?'' 

The side of falling from grace says : "We 
believe you are sincere in your interpretation 
of those yerses, but you seem to forget that 
the Psalmist is not declaring that a good man 
cannot fall from grace and be lost forever, 
but he is calling attention to the fact that 
wicked men are opposing good men, and 
therefore to encourage good men to endur- 
ance, or faithfulness in living right, he as- 
sures them that God will not only direct 
their steps and take pleasure in their good 
lives, but he will see to it that if the wicked 
should attack them unexpectedly, or from a 
quarter not being observed, and defeat or 
throw them down, they shall not remain 
fallen or defeated, for he is sustaining them. 
That this is what the Psalmist is teaching 
is evident from two facts. First, he says 
in verse 12: ^The wicked plotteth against 
the just, and gnasheth upon him with his 
teeth,' and also in verse 21: *The wicked 



Cannot and Can Pall from Grace. 11 

borroweth, and payeth not again.' Second, 
he 18 speaking in verses 23 and 24 of a man 
whose ways please God, and, too, even when 
he falls, he falls not as a sinner but as one 
who is living right. He does not fall by sin- 
ning, but as one who is still right with God 
and still pleasing him by not sinning against 
him. He is thrown by a wicked man.'' 

The side that one cannot fall says: ^^Our 
interpretation of these passages is sustained 
when God says: ^For a just man falleth 
seven times, and riseth up again.' [Prov. 
xxiv. 16.] Is it not plain from this verse 
that a just man will not be lost forever even 
if he falls as many as seven times, which 
means perfection, or no special limit to the 
number of times he may fall?" 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^You 
seem to overlook the fact again that it is not 
declared that the just man falls seven times 
because he sins each time, but that each time 
he falls as a just man — ^just with God and 
just with men. He is not falling because he 
sins against God, for that is not the reason 
he falls; but he falls because of the wicked- 



12 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

ness of a wicked man. That this interpre- 
tation is correct is evident from the fact 
that the inspired writer is writing about the 
wicked and the just or good. In other 
words, let us take the preceding fifteenth 
verse in connection with the sixteenth, the 
one quoted, and you will see clearly that our 
interpretation is correct. ^Lay not wait, O 
wicked man, against the dwelling of the 
righteous; spoil not his resting place. For 
a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up 
again.' Now you can see that the wicked may 
cause a good man to fall, not because he has 
sinned, but because the wicked defeated him 
at a time when the good man was expecting it 
or not expecting it. The fall that the just 
man may get because of the wicked may be in 
money matters. The wicked may cheat him, 
burn his property, or he may steal his money, 
etc., but the righteous will rise up again. The 
wicked may defeat him in court by false 
witnesses and unjust jurors or judges, but 
the just man will recover or rise up again. 
The wicked may slander the just man and 
for a while ruin his good name, hurt his 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 13 

character, and even deaden his influence 
completely for a season, but he will rise up 
again. The wicked have not only hurt but 
ruined good men for a while financially, in 
influence, and in good results ; but they would 
rise up again because they were just, their 
ways pleased God, and he was with them," 

The side that declares that one cannot fall 
from grace says: ^^Let us quit the Old Tes- 
tament, and let us cite the words of the Sav- 
ior, who said : ^He that belie veth and is bap- 
tized shall be saved.' [Mark xvi. 16.] Do 
you not see that our Savior says most posi- 
tively that if one believes he shall be saved, 
and does not even hint anything but that he 
shall be saved?" 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^You 
seem to forget in quoting that scripture that 
it does not declare, as you preach, that if 
one believes right now he is saved in the 
present, future, and forever. Our Savior 
says in that verse, he that is now believing 
^shall be saved,' and you know that that is 
in the future; and, too, you seem to forget 
that the last of that yerse declares, ^And he 



14 Cannot and Can Fall from Gracej. 

that believeth not shall be damned'; there- 
fore if your interpretation of ^He that be- 
lieveth . . . shall be saved' — that is, it 
means that he who believes right now, in the 
present tense, shall be saved, irrespective of 
how he believes or lives in the future; then, 
to be consistent, you are forced to interpret 
it to mean that he who disbelieves right now, 
in the present tense, shall be damned right 
now, in the present, future, and forever, 
whether he repents, believes, or disbelieves.'' 

The side that one cannot fall says: ^^We 
do believe that when a sinner is once fully 
awakened to his sins and does not repent or 
believe, right then and there he is damned, 
in the present, future, and forever." 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^But 
Christ does not say that a sinner who does 
not believe right now is right now damned, 
in the present, future, and forever, but he 
says, ^He shall be damned,' which means that 
his damnation is in the future. We believe 
our Savior meant that if any one continues 
to believe in the present tense, he shall be 
saved; and that if any one continues to dis- 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 15 

believe in the present tense, he shall be 
damned. The believing and disbelieving 
are both in the present tense, and the salva- 
tion and damnation are both in the future. 
"No one is fully and finally saved until he is 
in heaven; and no one is fully and finally 
damned until he is in hell. You should not 
forget that when God speaks positively that 
a believer shall be saved and that an unbe- 
liever shall be damned, without expressing a 
condition, one is implied. That this is cor- 
rect, let us now listen to what God says 
about this matter in Ezekiel. He says: 
^When I shall say to the righteous, that he 
shall surely live; if he trust to his own right- 
eousness, and commit iniquity, all his right- 
eousnesses shall not be remembered; but for 
his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall 
die for it. Again, when I say unto the wick- 
ed, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from 
his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 
if the wicked restore the pledge, give again 
that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of 
life, without committing iniquity; he shall 
surely live, he shall not die.' [Ezek. xxxiii. 



16 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

13-15.] So you see from these words of God 
himself that if he speaks positively to a good 
man and declares that 'he shall surely live/ 
he means that if he continues to live right; 
that is, if he continues to be righteous and 
does not sin, ^he shall surely live.' Of course 
if he does not continue righteous and sinless, 
then, he says, ^For his iniquity that he hath 
committed, he shall die for it.' This is plain 
enough. God also informs us that when he 
says positively to the wicked, ^Thou shalt 
surely die,' and does not express a condition, 
one is implied, for he says: ^If he turn from 
his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 
. . . restore the pledge, give again that he had 
robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without 
committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he 
shall not die.' So you see that God does de- 
clare that conditions are implied even when 
not expressed." 

The side that cannot fall says: "But our 
Savior said again : ^He that believeth on the 
Son hath everlasting life.' [John iii. 36.] 
l^ow can you not see that he plainly teaches 
that one cannot fall from grace, as you 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 17 

Methodists declare? Can you not see that 
he gives everlasting life, and therefore he 
cannot lose it for the reason that it is ever- 
lasting life; and hence if one could lose it, it 
would not be everlasting life?" 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^You 
seem not to discover that you have disre- 
garded two very important facts in that thir- 
ty-sixth verse of the third chapter of John. 
The first is that the verb ^believeth' is in the 
present tense, and so is ^hath everlasting life/ 
Our Savior is continuing to inform us that 
it is not he who had faith or did believe last 
week, month, or year, or any year, but it is 
he who is believing in the present tense. 
The second fact is that life is a principle and 
its character is everlasting, and hence one's 
surrendering or losing it does not change its 
character in the least. It is still everlasting 
life, whether one keeps it or not. It does not 
make it everlasting for him to keep it, nor 
does it cease to be everlasting when he sur- 
renders or loses it. It finds illustration in 
the case of a gold dollar. The character of 
the gold dollar is gold, and therefore one's 



18 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

keeping it, losing, or even giving it away 
does not change its character at all, for it 
remains a gold dollar whether he has it or 
not. And so it is with everlasting life* Its 
character is everlasting; and hence one's hav- 
ing it or not having it does not change its 
character in the least. It remains everlast- 
ing life." 

The side that cannot fall says : ^^Our Sav- 
ior makes it mighty plain to us that one can- 
not fall from grace when he says : ^My sheep 
hear my voice, and I know them, and they 
follow me: and I give unto them eternal 
life; and they shall never perish, neither 
shall any man pluck them out of my hand.' 
[John X. 27, 28.] Now, what can you do 
with these plain verses but to believe with 
us that one cannot fall from grace? Do you 
not see that Christ gives his disciples eternal 
life and also declares that they shall never 
perish and that no one can pluck them out of 
his hand? Do you not know that if one had 
eternal health and lost it it would not be 
eternal health? And so it is with eternal 
life. Can you not see that if one lost his 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 19 

health it would not be eternal? and also that 
if one should lose eternal life it would not 
be eternal life if he could lose it? What 
can you do with these verses but interpret 
them as we do, and hence believe as we do, 
that one cannot lose his religion or fall from 
grace?" 

The side of falling from grace says : "You 
seem to overlook the great difference be- 
tween health and life. You should not for- 
get that health is a condition and life is a 
principle. Health depends upon conditions 
for continuance, but life is a principle, and 
has its own character, which is eternal, and 
hence remains eternal whether one keeps it 
or not. It may be illustrated by a silver 
dollar. The charactci of the silver dollar is 
silver, and hence does not depend upon be- 
ing kept or lost; in either case it remains a 
silver dollar. And so it is with eternal life : 
keeping or losing it does not change its 
character; it remains eternal life.'' 

The side that cannot fall says: "But our 
Savior declares that ^they shall never perish.' " 

The side of falling from grace says: "Of 



20 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

course no one can perish so long as he keeps 
eternal life, but just as soon as he surren- 
ders or loses eternal life he perishes. 

The side that cannot fall says: ^^But our 
Savior says again: ^JSTeither shall any man 
pluck them out of my hand.' '' 

The side of falling from grace says : "We 
are thankful to God that no one can take 
our religion away from us; for if our ene- 
mies could take it away from us, they 
w^ould do so and thereby force us to hell, 
and we could not prevent it. But, thanks to 
our Holy Father, he has so constituted us 
that no one can take it away from us, and 
therefore if we cease to posses it it will be 
because we from choice of our own gave it 
up or lost it; and hence we shall be held re- 
sponsible for its loss, and not some one else. 
We are glad that we are free moral agents 
even after we become the children of God, 
and therefore still responsible for our lives — 
that is, the manner in which we live." 

The side that cannot fall says: "Paul sus- 
tains us in our doctrine that one cannot fall 
from grace when he declares: *For I am 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 21 

persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor 
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
things present, nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 
shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' 
[Rom. viii. 38, 39.] l^ow do you not see 
that Paul teaches us that there is nothing in 
the vast domains of God that can separate 
us from the love of God which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord?" 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^Yes, 
we see that nothing in the vast domains of 
God can separate us from the love of God 
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and we are 
truly glad that it is just that way, for if it were 
otherwise w^e might be separated and lost. 
But God has so arranged matters that no be- 
ing, nor anything besides, can separate us from 
the love of God but ourselves; and hence he 
will hold none responsible for our separation 
but ourselves. That this interpretation of 
those scriptures is correct is clear from 
Jude's advice to God's people when he said: 
^Keep yourselves in the love of God.' [Jude 



22 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

21,] Why should we keep ourselves in the 
love of God, Jude? Jude would likely an- 
swer: ^Because there is nothing nor any 
other being but yourselves that can separate 
you from the love of God; and therefore, in 
order that you may not do it yourselves, 
^^Keep yourselves in the love of God." ' " 

The side that cannot fall from grace says : 
^'We shall now give you a verse that we think 
you cannot very well answer, if you can an- 
swer it at all, and it is this : ^"Whosoever is 
born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed 
remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, be- 
cause he is born of God.' [1 John iii. 9.] So 
you see that this verse just simply fixes this 
matter so completely that we believe that 
there is no answer for you but to acknowl- 
edge that our side is right in its claim that 
when one is once saved he cannot possibly 
fall from grace." 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^You 
seem to forget that that passage of scripture 
teaches the doctrine that one must live with- 
out sin; in fact, it declares that one born ol 
God does not sin and that he cannot sin; 



Cannot and Can Fall prom Grace. 23 

and yet you preach that no one can live 
without sin, and that all do sin, and that they 
cannot help sinning/' 

The side that cannot fall says: ^^We are 
not discussing sin or sinning, but that one 
cannot fall from grace/' 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^We 
wanted you to see how inconsistent you are. 
However, you seem to overlook the fact that 
John prepared us in the sixth verse for the 
ninth verse, which you just quoted. He said : 
^Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not/ 
[1 John iii. 6.] In this verse the free moral 
agency of man is recognized, and the doc- 
trine is that so long as one remains in Christ 
he cannot sin, and hence he must get out 
before he can sin. In the ninth verse he 
presents the same truth in a different light : 
^Whosoever is born of God doth not com- 
mit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and 
he cannot sin, because he is born of God.' 
[1 John iii. 9.] As long as he keeps the seed 
God planted in him he cannot sin; but just as 
soon as he surrenders that seed, then he be- 
comes capable of doing almost anything." 



24 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

lY. The Poi:n'ts Made by the Side That 
OisTE CAisrisroT Fall ekom Gkace. 

1. The Vine and Its Brandies. — The side 
that cannot fall says : ^^You must remember 
that Christ said, ^I am the vine, ye are the 
branches' [John xv. 5], and you ought to 
know that the branches of a vine cannot get 
out of the vine; they have to stay in the 
vine. Therefore can you not see that, since 
that is true, when one gets into Christ he 
cannot get out again?" 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^But 
you seem to overlook the fact that Christ 
was not using the vine and its branches to 
prove that one could not fall, but used it to 
give us a knowledge of the closeness of the re- 
lation we sustain to him and, too, a knowledge 
of our utter dependence upon him for life. 
"We can have no real spiritual life independ- 
ent of him. Therefore we have no grounds 
for concluding that we cannot get out of him 
like an inert branch of a common vine, which 
cannot get out, but has to stay in the vine 
anyhow. Christ said: ^I am the vine, ye 
are the branches: He that abideth in me, and 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 25 

I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: 
for without me ye can do nothing. If a man 
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, 
and is withered; and men gather them, and 
cast them into the fire, and they are burned.' 
[John XV. 5, 6.] In these verses our Savior 
shows plainly that it is possible for us 
branches to abide or not abide in him; or, in 
other words, it is possible for us to stay in 
Christ or to get out of him; and that if we 
stay in him we shall bear much fruit, but if 
we get out of him we shall wither — that is, 
lose our life and finally be burned." 

2. God Does N^ot Damn His Oion CMU 
dren. — The side that cannot fall from grace 
says: ^^ Would you damn your own child?" 

The side of falling from grace says : "Cer- 
tainly not." 

The side that cannot fall says: "Are you 
better than God?" 

The side of falling from grace says: "Cer- 
tainly not; neither have we ever hinted that 
we were as good as he." 

The side that cannot ftill says: "Will God 
damn his own children?" 



26 Cannot and Can Fall prom Grace. 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^God 
does not damn any one, and therefore when 
one is damned he has done it himself, for 
God declares : ^For I have no pleasure in the 
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God : 
wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye/ 
[Ezek. xviii. 32.] ^As I live, saith the Lord 
God, I have no pleasure in the death of the 
wicked/ [Ezek. xxxiii. 11.] The word 
*damn' occurs but three times in the Bible, 
and even then not in the sense of God's damn- 
ing any one. The Greek Tcrino occurs 274 
times in the Bible, and Tcatahrino twenty 
times." 

The side of falling from grace says: "If 
you propose to discuss this question on the 
basis of sentimentality, we wish to inform 
you that we have as much sentiment as you 
have, if not more. Would you allow your 
child to be placed on the corner of the street 
of a heathen city and set on fire in order to 
give it light?'' 

The side that cannot fall says: "No; we 
would not; and, besides, we would shed the 
last drop of our blood to prevent it." 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 27 

The side of falling from grace says: '^God 
allowed his children to be thus treated. Are 
you better than God? Besides, God allowed 
some of his children to be whipped severely; 
some stoned to death; some sawn asunder; 
some slain with swords; some smoked to 
death; some sunken to their chins in mud in 
prisons and allowed to starve to death, look- 
ing at food not quite close enough for them 
to reach it; some crucified with their heads 
up, while the heads of others were down; some 
were thrown into the dens of wild animals 
and torn to pieces; some were burned to 
death; some tortured and killed one way and 
some another. Therefore, since you would 
not allow your children thus to be treated, 
is it because you are better than God?'' 

The side that cannot fall says: "l!^ot at 
all; and we must confess that we see God in 
a difierent light from that in which we had 
seen him before our discussion of this sub- 
ject began." 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^We 
hope you can see now that we have as much 
sentiment as you have, if not more; and, too, 



28 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

that we are not to discuss this question on 
the basis of sentimentality, but in the light 
of God's word, the Bible. You seem to 
overlook another very important fact, and 
that is this : that we are not a part of God 
as our children are a part of us. Our chil- 
dren are our flesh, bone, and blood, but we 
are no part of God at all; and if you should 
believe that we are, we should ask you then : 
^Who is our mother ? ' Paul, however, set- 
tled that subject well when he said, in speak- 
ing of the Ephesians before they became 
God's children : ' That at that time ye were 
without Christ, being aliens from the com- 
monwealth of Israel, and strangers from the 
covenant of promise, having no hope, and 
without God in the world.' [Eph. ii. 12.] 
N^ow you should see that it is plain that all 
sinners are aliens, and to such God makes a 
proposition to adopt them into his family as 
his own children, and that proposition is 
this: That they believe on his Son; and 
when they do believe, then they are adopted 
into God's family, and therefore by that 
means they become his children. That this 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 29 

is the case is clear from Paul's own writings 
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost 
when he said : ^For ye have not received the 
spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have 
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we 
cry, Abba, Father.' [Rom. viii. 15.] ^To re- 
deem them that were under the law, that we 
might receive the adoption of sons.' [Gal. 
iv. 5.] From these scriptures we can clear- 
ly see that sinners — or, rather, believing sin- 
ners — are adopted into God's family without 
becoming a part of God as our children are 
a part of us. The word ^adoption' occurs 
five times in the Bible. One continues a 
child of God after adoption, not simply be- 
cause he has been adopted, but by his living 
right after he is adopted. This is quite clear 
from the words of Christ in reply to a cer- 
tain one who said to him: ^Behold, thy moth- 
er and thy brethren stand without, desiring 
to speak with thee. But he answered and 
said unto him that told him. Who is my 
mother? and who are my brethren?' And 
he then answered his own question and said : 
^For whosoever shall do the will of my Fa- 



30 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

ther which is in heaven, the same is my broth- 
er, and sister, and mother.' [Matt. xii. 47, 
48, 50.] So you see that our Savior refused 
to claim kinship with his own mother unless 
she did the will of his Father. In other 
words, he refuses to claim kinship with any 
one, even his own mother who gave him 
birth into this world, unless she lived right. 
Therefore in order to continue a child of 
God one must live right." 

3. The Third Point Made hy the Side Tliat 
Cannot Fall Is That if God Loses Any of 
His Children^ It Will Be Wlien the Devil Is 
More Powerful than God. — This side says: 
^^If one claims that God's children can be 
lost at all, he makes the devil mightier than 
God, for if God should lose any of his children 
at all it would be because the devil is strong- 
er or mightier than God; and, therefore, who 
would dare to say that the devil is stronger 
than God?" 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^If 
you propose to discuss this question on the 
basis or question of power between God and 
the devil, we shall prove that you make the 



K 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 31 

devil more powerful than God by the very 
position that you have taken. Your posi- 
tion is that when one becomes a child of God 
it is impossible for him ever to be lost un- 
less the devil become too strong for God to 
keep him, for that is the only chance for him 
to be lost or for God to lose him, God will 
hold on to him or keep him as his child irre- 
spective of how he lives or what he does; he 
simply cannot be lost unless the devil is 
more powerful than God. And now/' says 
the side of falling from grace, ^^we wish to 
ask you: Did not God create Adam and 
Eve?" 

The side that cannot fall says: ^^Yes; cer- 
tainly he did.'' 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^Well, 
since God made them, were they not God's? 
and not only God's, but were they not his 
children?" 

The side that cannot fall says : ^^They were 
his creatures because he created them." 

^^AU right," says the side of falling from 
grace. "Then they belonged to God, for he 
created them; and not only is this true, but 



32 Cannot and Can Fall feom Grace. 

they were his children because he created 
them. That they were God's children, listen 
to Luke, who declares: ^Adam, which was the 
son of God.' [Luke iii. 38.] From these 
words we learn that they were God's children, 
and yet God lost them. They were God's, 
for he created them, and yet he lost them. 
Now can you not see that since you declare 
that God cannot lose his children unless the 
devil becomes stronger than God — yet he 
lost Adam and Eve, who were his children — 
by such a position you make the devil 
stronger or more powerful than God your- 
self? "We do not believe, like you, that it is 
a question of power between God and the 
devil; not at all, but that it is a question of 
free moral agency. The word power occurs 
272 times in the Bible, but never in the sense 
of the devil's being more powerful than God. 
Paul, in speaking of God's words to him 
when he was converted, said that God said 
he was now sending him to the people 
^to turn them from darkness to light, and 
from the power of Satan unto God.' [Acts 
xxvi. 18.] St. Paul said again in speaking 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 33 

of Christ : ' That through death he might de- 
stroy him that had the power of death, that 
is the devir [Heb. ii. 14], and St. John 
tells us in speaking of the devil : ' Satan shall 
be loosed out of his prison.' [Eev. xx. 7.] 
These scriptures do not teach that the devil 
is more powerful than God, as your position 
teaches. Our Savior said: ^Ye will not 
come unto me, that ye might have life.' [John 
V. 40.] From these words one can see that 
our Savior places the whole matter on free 
moral agency. He does not hint that the 
devil was keeping them from coming at all, 
or that he could prevent their coming at all. 
Our position is that it is not a question of 
power between God and the devil, but a mat- 
ter of free moral agency. It is with the in- 
dividual man as to whether or not he will 
remain true to God and live or be unfaithful 
and die. This is clear from Paul's language 
when he said: ^For if ye live after the flesh, 
ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do 
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." 
(Rom. viii. 13.) 



34 Cannot and Can Fall prom Grace. 

Y, The Sckiptures of the Side of 
Falling ebom Gbace. 

The side of falling from grace says to the 
side that cannot fall : " Let ns hear the words 
of God. He says: ^ But when the righteous 
turneth away from his righteousness, and 
committeth iniquity, and doeth according to 
all the abominations that the wicked man 
doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness 
that he hath done shall not be mentioned : in 
his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in 
his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he 
die.' [Ezek, xviii. 24.] This verse, we 
think, makes the possibility of falling from 
grace very plain, so plain that we are 
unable to get anything else out of it. What 
can you get?'' 

The side that cannot fall says: ^^We un- 
derstand that that verse has reference to one's 
turning from self-righteousness." 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^You 
seem to overlook the fact that God wants the 
self-righteous to turn from self-righteousness, 
and God will bless him for that; but the 
righteousness in this scripture pleases God 



Cannot and Can Fall prom Grace. 35 

BO well that he does not want him to turn 
from it at all; and if he does, God declares 
he shall die. You seem to forget also that 
two characters are mentioned in this verse. 
One is righteous, and the other is a wicked 
character; one was not committing iniquity, 
or sin, and the other was. ]N^ow, God says 
of the righteous or good man, that if he 
ceases to be righteous and sins like the wick- 
ed character, he shall die. In the first place, 
^ all his righteousness that he hath done shall 
not be mentioned.' It shall be as nothing; 
and, besides, he shall die in the sins he has 
committed. Listen to God again. He says : 
^"When a righteous man turneth away from 
his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, 
and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he 
hath done shall he die.' [Ezek. xviii. 26.] 
ISTow what can you do with that verse? " 

The side that cannot fall says: "He has 
reference to a nation and not to an indi- 
vidual." 

The side of falling from grace says: "You 
seem to overlook a law of language in your 
interpretation of that passage, and that law 



36 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace, 

is this: that pronouns refer to their nouns, or 
rather, as some express it, stand for their 
nouns. The pronoun in that verse is ^his,' 
which is a personal pronoun referring to man; 
whereas if the noun had been nation, the 
pronoun would have been 4t,' a neuter pro- 
noun, referring to its neuter noun 'nation/ 
Therefore the plain doctrine in verse 26 is 
that if a good man who is not sinning 
against God quits living right and sins 
against God and dies in sin — that is, has 
not had it forgiven — he shall die the second 
death, which is everlasting. The first death 
is that of his body, and the second death is 
that of his soul and body. Just think of the 
fact that he was once righteous because he 
was not sinning, and yet he turns away, 
sins, and dies forever! The great apostle 
Paul said: 'But I keep under my body, and 
bring it into subjection: lest that by any 
means, when I have preached to others, I 
myself should be a castaway.' [1 Cor. ix. 
27.] So we see that Paul taught the possi- 
bility of falling from grace; and not only 
that truth, but the possibility of his own 



I 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 37 

falling, although he had preached to others. 
To prevent his own falling he declared that 
he kept his own body under and brought it 
into subjection/' 

The side that cannot fall says: "We be- 
lieve that all that is meant is that if Paul 
did not keep his body under and bring it into 
subjection, he would have ceased to be an 
apostle, and God would not have allowed him 
to preach; and, besides, God would have laid 
him on the shelf, and after a while would 
have taken him on to heaven." 

The side of falling from grace says: "If 
that were all, it would have profited Paul to 
turn his passions and appetites loose and just 
gloat them; and then, according to your 
views, God would have made him quit la- 
boring altogether and laid him on a shelf 
to have a good and easy time, and then after 
a time would have taken him on to heaven. 
"Would that not have been awful morality? 
What community would be safe with char- 
acters on that order? Just think of such 
morality as that, anyhow! Paul would feel 
slandered if he were now on this earth and 



38 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

should hear such an interpretation of his 
writings as that. For more light let us 
hear the words of Peter. He said: ^For if 
after they have escaped the pollutions of the 
world through the knowledge of the Lord 
and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again en- 
tangled therein, and overcome, the latter end 
is worse with them than the beginning. For 
it had been better for them not to have known 
the way of righteousness, than, after they 
have known it, to turn from the holy com- 
mandment delivered unto them. But it is 
happened unto them according to the true 
proverb. The dog is turned to his own vomit 
again; and the sow that was washed to her 
wallowing in the mire.' '^ (2 Pet. ii. 20-22.) 

The side that cannot fall says: ^'We be- 
lieve Peter is teaching us in those verses that 
when sinners are awakened to see that they 
are sinners and then do not accept our Sav- 
ior, it would have been better for them if 
they had not been awakened and had not 
heard of our Savior. That is what we be- 
lieve Peter is teaching." 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^We 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 39 

do not doubt that you are honest in giv- 
ing such an interpretation to Peter's words, 
but you seem not to see that Peter is talk- 
ing about those who are cleansed from the 
pollutions of the world, which means the 
stains, impurities, guilt, filth, and, to sum it 
all u]) in one word, the sins of the world. 
They are also freed from the entanglements 
of the world, like the dog that once vomited 
and ate it, but quit it and became clean; 
and like the sow that wallowed in the 
mire or mud and was washed and became 
clean. Hence can you not see that he was 
not talking about awakened sinners who re- 
fused our Savior? Sinners of that kind, in- 
stead of being cleansed from the pollutions of 
the world and freed from its entanglements, 
remain in all of them and are not delivered 
from them at all, as those of whom Peter 
speaks, because they refused our Savior, 
their only source of deliverance. Then Pe- 
ter says of those once delivered, if they are 
again entangled and overcome by the pollu- 
tions of the world, their last state would be 
worse than the first, and that it would have 



40 Caxxot axd Can Fall from Grace. 

been better for them not to have been 
cleansed and freed from them at all than, 
after thev are freed and cleansed, to ^o back 
to them again and become entangled and 
filthv ag'ain. Those who do o-q back to 
the pollutions of the world he likens to the 
dog that has turned to his vomit and is 
eating it again, and to the sow that was 
washed clean and goes back to her wallow- 
ing in the dirt, mud, and filth again as she 
did before she was washed. So you see that 
there is no proof in these passages for the 
doctrine that one cannot fall from g-race/' 



o* 



YI. The Poixts Made by Falles'g feom 
G^EACE FOE Its Defexse. 

1. God^s TTar Rings to His Peojole. — The 
side of falling from gi-ace says: "If God's 
people cannot fall from gTace and be lost 
forever, it is strange that God should warn 
them; for we understand that warnings im- 
ply danger, and then we think that with 
great propriety we can say that warnings are 
out of place and are useless when there is no 
danger. But that God's people are in danger 



Cannot and Can Fall prom Grace. 41 

of falling from grace and being lost forever 
seems very clear to us from Paul's words to 
the Christians at Eome, He said: ^For if 
God spared not the natural branches, take 
heed lest he spare not thee.' [Eom. xi. 21.] 
Before he wrote these words he had called 
the attention of the Christians at Rome to 
the fact that some of the believing Jews had 
ceased to believe and hence were broken off 
because of their unbelief, and therefore his 
warning to them." 

The side that cannot fall says: ^^God 
warns his children, not because they can fall 
away and be lost, but because he wants to 
stimulate them to live aright.'' 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^But 
you seem to forget that God informed them 
that he would not spare them if they did not 
live aright; and, too, you seem to forget that 
it is said of God: ^That by two immutable 
things, in which it was impossible for God 
to lie.' [Heb. vi. 18.] And, therefore, can 
you not see that your position represents our 
Holy Father as saying what is not true in 
order to get his children to do what is true? 



42 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

Why should God declare to them that they 
would be broken off like the other unbeliev- 
ers when he knew they would not be broken 
off? You should know that God hates lies 
and all else that is untrue and false. Paul 
said to the Corinthians : ' Wherefore let him 
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he 
fall; '' (1 Cor. X. 12.) 

The side that cannot fall says: "You 
seem not to have noticed that Paul said, 
^Thinketh he standeth.' They were not 
standing, but thought they were standing.'' 

The side of falling from grace says : " If 
they were not standing, but just thought they 
were, please tell us, therefore, how they 
could fall. You know that if one is already 
down he cannot fall, for he has nothing from 
which he can fall; but Paul informed them 
that they might fall, and why? Because 
they were not in a fallen state. They were 
not down, but up, and hence could fall; and 
to convince you that our interpretation of 
that scripture is correct, please allow us to 
call your attention to the fact that Paul in- 
formed those Corinthians that God was not 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 43 

well pleased with some of the Jews, espe- 
cially those of whom Paul said : ' Neither let 
us commit fornication, as some of them com- 
mitted, and fell in one day three and twenty 
thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as 
some of them also tempted, and were de- 
stroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as 
some of them also murmured, and were de- 
stroyed of the destroyer.' After he men- 
tioned those awful endings of God's own 
people among the Jews because of their sins 
against God, he then declared: ^Now all 
these things happened unto them for ensam- 
ples; and they are written for our admoni- 
tion.' [1 Cor. X. 8-11.] You can now plain- 
ly see that God's people who fell and were 
destroyed are held up to us by Paul as 
warnings." 

The side that cannot fall says: "You 
should remember that those people mentioned 
by Paul were Jews, and hence did not have 
the kind of religion we have; and, therefore, 
most anything might be expected of them. 
Our religion is the religion of Christ and, 
therefore, saves one now and forever." 



44 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^ You 
seem to have forgotten that Paul prepared us 
against the false conclusion to which you 
have come about those of the religious Jews 
who fell by sinning against God. He in- 
forms us in the beginning of the tenth chap- 
ter of First Corinthians that they had the 
same kind of religion that we have; and to 
convince you that they did have the same 
kind of religion that we have, listen to him. 
He said of those Jews that fell by sinning 
against God and all the rest of them : ' And 
did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did 
all drink the same spiritual drink; for they 
drank of that spiritual Eock that followed 
them: and that Rock was Christ.' [1 Cor. 
X. 3, 4,] From these verses you can see that 
their religion was the same kind that we have, 
and yet the ones who sinned against God fell 
and were destroyed. Not only did Paul 
warn God's people because of the possibility 
of God's people sinning against him and be- 
ing lost forever, but Peter warned not only 
God's people, but also God's ministers; there- 
fore listen to him. He said : ' Be sober, be 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 45 

vigilant; because your adversary the devil, 
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking 
whom he may devour.'' (1 Peter v. 8.) 

The side that cannot fall says: ^^ Peter 
wrote those words to stimulate the ministry 
to do their best when they preach, and also 
to keep at it, although they could not fall.'' 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^You 
seem to think that God wants us to do what 
is wrong and to speak what is really false in 
order to accomplish good, in the face of Paul's 
plain language when he said: ^As we be 
slanderously reported, and as some affirm 
that we say, Let us do evil, that good may 
come; whose damnation is just.' [Eom. iii. 8.] 
And again he said : ' Shall we sin, because we 
are not under the law, but under grace ? God 
forbid.' [Rom. vi. 15.] In the first scripture 
we quoted from Paul here we learn that he 
had been accused of saying: ^Let us do evil, 
that good may come.' This he declares was a 
slander, and that the damnation of those who 
declared it was just. In the last verse we 
quoted from Paul he asks the question, 
' Shall we sin, because we are not under the 



4lQ Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

law, but under grace?' and then he answers 
his own question by saying: ^God forbid.' 
From these scriptures it is clear enough that 
we must not say nor do a false thing in order 
to accomplish good; and hence can you not 
see how irreverent and unjust it is to accuse 
God of what he condemns? May God help 
us all to be very careful at that point! A 
warning implies danger; and therefore, when 
God warns his children, he means that there 
is danger. Let us believe God and heed all 
of his warnings." 

2. God Punishes His Children. — The 
side of falling from grace says: "Our 
second point is that God punishes his own 
children in this world. That he does is clear 
from Paul's words when he said: ^For 
whom the Lord loyeth he chasteneth, and 
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.'" 
(Heb. xii. 6.) 

The side that cannot fall says: "It is 
true that God punishes his children, and 
why? Because he wants to make them bet- 
ter, just as any true human father who pun- 
ishes his children; not, therefore, because he 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 47 

will damn them if he does not thus treat 
them, or that they will be damned, but be- 
cause he wants them to be good. Hence 
Paul says: ^Furthermore we have had fa- 
thers of our flesh which corrected us, and 
we gave them reverence : shall we not much 
rather be in subjection unto the Father of 
spirits, and live?' " (Heb. xii. 9.) 

The side of falling from grace says : "It is 
true that a faithful human father punishes 
his children, not because he will have to 
damn them if he does not punish them, but 
you seem to lose sight of the fact that he 
punishes them in order not only to prevent 
their ruin in this life, but to prevent their 
ruin in eternity; in other words, to prevent 
them from damning themselves. From all 
of this you should see clearly that God pun- 
ishes his children because there is great 
danger of their bringing not only great dis- 
credit upon themselves in this life, but also 
damnation in the w^orld to come. If there 
were no danger of evil of any kind and even 
final and everlasting ruin coming upon God's 
children, there would be no reason why he 



48 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

should punish them at all. The Bible in 
speaking of correcting a child says: ^Thou 
shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver 
his soul from hell.' [Prov. xxiii. 14.] So you 
see that our point is Scriptural, that the pun- 
ishment which God gives his children implies 
the possibility of his children falling from 
grace and being lost forever; and therefore 
he punishes them when they need it to pre- 
vent their falling and their damnation.'' 

VII. The Teistdeistcy of the Doctrij^e 
That Oi^e Caisti^ot Fall and Be Lost 

FOEEYER. 

The side that one cannot fall says: ^^Our 
doctrine tends to stimulate God's people to 
be faithful and always ready to meet God, 
because it emphasizes his love for them. 
That isj God so loves his children that their 
sins do not lessen his love for them at all. 
In fact, we believe that through Christ pro- 
visions were made for their sins. In other 
words, we believe that Christ has so suffered 
and died for our sins that just as soon as we 
accept him as our Savior we at once cease 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 49 

to be responsible for any of our past, pres- 
ent, future, and all sins of all kinds, and 
hence protected fully, freely, finally, and 
forever against all possibility of falling and 
of finally being lost/' 

The side of falling from grace says: ^^It 
is right that we should emphasize the love 
of God, provided that we emphasize it in a 
right and just way. N^ot to emphasize this 
love in a right and just way means an injus- 
tice to God. "We emphasize God's love, too, 
and delight in doing so, but how do we em- 
phasize God's love? By emphasizing his 
justice; for we believe that God is not held 
up in a proper light when his love is empha- 
sized in such a way as to leave out or ignore 
his justice. One of God's greatest and most 
perfect moral attributes is justice, and hence 
one should see that great discredit is done 
God when his love is emphasized at the ex- 
pense of his justice. Let us hear the Bible 
on this point. The Psalmist says: ^Justice 
and judgment are the habitation of thy 
throne.' [Ps. Ixxxix. 14.] God himself in 
speaking of himself said : ^ A just God.' [Isa. 
4 



50 Cannot and Can Pall from Grace. 

xlv. 21.] So yon see that God has declared 
himself to be a just God; and hence it is 
quite an injustice to God to emphasize his 
love without respect for his justice. In oth- 
er words, to declare that God loves in such 
a way as to disregard justice is to declare 
him to be unjust. To love right and prop- 
erly is to be just. It is an impossibility for 
any one to love in a right and proper way 
unless he is just. God's love is not a hap- 
hazard or desultory something, but it is or- 
ganized and orderly. This is quite evident 
from the following scriptures : 'If a man love 
me, he will keep my words. . . . He that 
loveth me not keepeth not my sayings.' 
[John xiv. 23, 24.] ^He that saith, I know 
him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a 
liar, and the truth is not in him.' [1 John ii. 4.] 
'For this is the love of God, that we keep his 
commandments.' [1 John v. 3.] ]5^ow, what 
is the forced conclusion? It is this: that 
since God does not consider one as having 
any love at all for him except when he keeps 
his commandments, therefore God's love for 
all his intelligent creatures exists or is exer- 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 51 

cised only according to law. Paul said: ^Do 
we then make void the law through faith? 
God forbid: yea, we establish the law.' 
[Eom. iii. 31.] So the tendency of your doc- 
trine is to discredit God and to make its ad- 
vocates careless and indifferent. It licenses 
them to be irreligious and sinful." 

YIII. The Tei^deistcy of the Doctrii^e 
That Ojste Cai^ Fall aistd Be Lost 
Forever. 

The side of falling from grace says : "The 
doctrine that one can fall from grace and be 
lost forever tends not only to hold God up 
to the people as being a tender, merciful, and 
a loving God, but also as a just God, as the 
Bible declared when it said: 'The just Lord 
is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniqui- 
ty.' [Zeph. iii. 5.] Again, it tends to stim- 
ulate God's children who believe and live it 
to respect the rights and feelings of all men 
and, too, to warn Christians all the time. It 
tends to incite its believers to diligence all 
the time till they are in heaven. They know 
that they have pure and undefiled religion, 



52 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

and know also that they can lose it; and that 
they may not lose it, they must live as God 
requires — they must live aright. They know 
that they are in danger only when not living 
aright. While living aright God becomes to 
them^ as Zechariah declares that God him- 
self said: "^For I, saith the Lord, will be unto 
her a wall of fire.' [Zech. ii. 3.] They may 
feel unwell or indifferent; but knowing that 
they can fall and be lost, they are there- 
by stimulated to attend to their Father's 
business anyhow, and, too, in the way that 
he has prescribed. It tends to keep all of its 
true believers from sin of all kinds. They 
remember that God hates sin, and hence 
they must hate it too and rigidly shun it. 
It tends to keep God's people who believe it 
ready to meet him. In order to be in such 
readiness they know that they must live 
aright every moment. Its tendency is to 
the highest type of morality and is onward, 
upward, without relaxation, until in heav- 
en." 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 53 

IX. Which Doctrhste, if Believed and 
Lived, "Will Fi]n^ally Place Us iisr 
Heavei^, EvE]sr if It Should Be False 
IN THE E]^D OF Life? 
The side that cannot fall says : "Our doc- 
trine will land us in heaven, even if it is 
false, because we do not limit the power of 
God, and we know that he has power to 
place us in heaven/' 

The side that can fall says: ^^You should 
not forget that our reaching heaven is not 
by the power of God merely, for we may 
limit God's power so that God cannot save 
us, although he may be anxious to do so. 
If that were not true, then Universalism 
would be true; and hence God would save all 
of our race, irrespective of conditions. That 
sinners, and even God's people, may limit 
his power so that he cannot save them ap- 
pears to be the case from the following scrip- 
tures. Our Savior said to sinners: 'Ye will 
not come to me, that ye might have life.' 
[John V. 40.] The Psalmist said of God's 
people: ^And limited the Holy One of Isra- 
el.' [Ps. Ixxviii. 41.] So you see that God 



54 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

is limited by both classes — by his own peo- 
ple and by sinners too. You seem to forget 
that your doctrine is that when one gets the 
religion of our Savior he cannot lose it, even 
if he does not live aright. Or, as your 
evangelists have declared, if one has religion, 
he cannot lose it; and therefore if he should 
shoot the life out of any human being and 
die the next minute, he would fly right into 
heaven." 

The side that cannot fall says: ^'"When 
God's children sin, it is not they that sin, 
but their flesh." 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^It is 
true that every one has two natures — a spir- 
itual and a material nature — but you seem 
to forget that those two natures constitute 
only one person; and, too, when that one per- 
son with the two natures is born again, he 
has control of both, and therefore what can 
his material nature or flesh do except as he 
desires and allows it to do? His flesh or 
body can do nothing except as he permits or 
makes it to do. It becomes his servant; and 
hence the plea that all the sinning done 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 55 

against God is done by the flesh, as if it were 
itself a distinct and independent being of its 
own, is contrary to the Scriptures. Paul 
says: *For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall 
die.' [Rom. viii. 13.] But a scripture more 
to the point still is when Paul said: 'But I 
keep under my body, and bring it into sub- 
jection; lest that by any means, when I have 
preached to others, I myself should be a 
castaway.' [1 Cor. ix. 27.] Paul gives no 
ground for the belief that the flesh sins, and 
we cannot prevent it; but, contrary to that 
doctrine, he tells us how to prevent its sin- 
ning, and that is by keeping it under control. 
Do not allow it to sin; make it quit sinning; 
for it is our flesh or body, and therefore, by 
the grace of God, we should make it mind 
us and make it serve us as God intended it 
should do. Let us not talk about the flesh 
or body as if it were some one else, for it is 
ours, and it is our own self. Paul says: 
^Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to 
the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye 
live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye 
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of 



56 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

the body, ye shall live.' [Rom. viii. 12, 13.] 
Paul does not write like the flesh runs over 
us, or controls us, and sins anyhow. God 
help us to believe the Bible and live it as 
God requires! So you see your doctrine 
tends not only to make its believers loose 
and careless in religious living, but it tends 
to make them misinterpret and dodge the 
plain teachings of the Bible. That we have 
said the right thing about the doctrine that 
^one cannot fall from grace and be lost for- 
ever,' let us remind you that your evangel- 
ists are going all over this country preach- 
ing to the people that they cannot lose their 
religion and that it makes no difi*erence what 
they do, even if they were to shoot the life 
out of others and die themselves the next 
minute after killing others, they would go 
flying to heaven in spite of it, because they 
cannot lose their religion. One of them de- 
clared that our Savior himself would become 
a liar if one should lose his religion. "What 
heartless blasphemy! N^ow, therefore, can 
you not see that if one believes that he can- 
not fall, and lives that doctrine, and, too, as 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 57 

your evangelists declare they can, he will 
miss heaven and be lost forever? One be- 
lieves that he cannot fall from grace, and 
that it makes no difference what he does or 
how he lives; hence if he believes and prac- 
tices his doctrine, and at the last finds that 
it is false, can you not see that he will not 
only miss heaven itself, but will be lost for- 
ever? Therefore the doctrine that one can- 
not fall from grace is not safe/' 

Will the Doctrine That One Cannot Fall 
from Grace and Be Lost Forever if He Does 
N^ot Live Right Land Him in Heaven^ if He 
Will Believe It and Live It to the End of 
Life, Even if It Should Be False^— The 
side of falling from grace says: ^^Our doc- 
trine is that one can lose his religion, but 
that he must not lose it; and to avoid losing 
it he must live aright. If he does live aright, 
and at the end finds that the doctrine is un- 
true and false, then what will follow? He 
is safe anyhow, because he has religion; 
and, in the next place, he has lived aright; and 
hence God will not let him go to hell, be- 
cause he has lived aright, and so he has a 



58 Cannot and Can Fall prom Grace. 

twofold or double chance to enter heaven, 
while one who believes and lives the doc- 
trine that no one can lose his religion has no 
chance of heaven at all if his doctrine should 
be false. So you should see that the doc- 
trine of falling from grace will give one who 
believes and lives it a twofold or double 
chance of heaven, even if it should be false, 
while the doctrine that one cannot fall from 
grace will give him no chance of heaven 
whatever if it should be false and he has be- 
lieved and lived it. Let us remember that 
any doctrine believed and lived that will 
land us in hell, if it should be false, should 
be dismissed and rigidly avoided as not be- 
ing of God at all, and hence very danger- 
ous. Let every one hate all false doctrines 
and rigidly let them alone." 

X. The Devil Was the First to Preach 
THE Doctrine That One Caxnot Fall. 

The side of falling from grace says: ''We 
are afraid of the doctrine that one cannot 
fall from grace.'' 

The side that cannot fall says: ^^Why? 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 59 

What is it that makes you afraid of our 
side?'' 

The side of falling from grace says : ^^Be- 
cause the devil was the first to preach your 
doctrine; and not only did he preach it, but 
he succeeded in what he had undertaken by 
preaching it. "We are afraid of anything 
that the devil preaches, for we are sure that 
it is not the truth, Christ said of him : ^He 
is a liar'; and again he said of him: ^Because 
there is no truth in him.' [John viii. 44.] 
The devil does not like the truth.'' 

The side that cannot fall says : "When did 
the devil preach our doctrine? and what did 
he have in view in preaching it, if he did 
preach it at all?" 

The side of falling from grace says: "Right 
in the beginning of our race his object was 
to ruin us. To convince you that he did 
preach your doctrine, let us listen to the Bi- 
ble where it says he questioned Eve, asking 
her: ^Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of 
every tree of the garden? And the woman 
said unto the serpent. We may eat of the 
fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the 



60 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the 
garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of 
it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die/ 
[Gen. iii. 1-3.] You likely noticed the dev- 
il's question and Eve's answer; but now lis- 
ten to the devil's words. He said: ^Ye shall 
not surely die.' [Gen. iii. 4.] God had told 
Adam and Eve that the day that they ate the 
forbidden fruit they should surely die [Gen. 
ii. 17], and the devil tells them that they 
shall not surely die, and Adam and Eve be- 
lieved the devil. You all know what a fix 
he got them into — and all of us as well — 
and therefore we are afraid of your doctrine. 
All the aches, pains, woes, hardships, di- 
vorces, diseases, sorrows, lies, sins, suffer- 
ings, deaths, etc., are due directly or indirectly 
to the devil's preaching your doctrine and to 
Adam and Eve's believing it and practic- 
ing it. Likely he made the same point with 
them that you frequently make with the peo- 
ple now: that they were the children of 
God, and therefore they could not fall. 
That he did likely point out that they were 
God's children, and therefore he could not 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 61 

aflford to let them fall, is quite evident from 
what Luke says : ^ Adam, which was the son 
of God.' [Luke iii. 38.] The devil never 
did preach our doctrine, which is : ^"We have 
religion and can lose it, but we must not 
lose it; and not to lose it, we must live 
aright.' IS'either does he preach it now; and 
why? Because he would lose and not gain 
anything by it. But he has preached and 
still preaches your doctrine because it suits 
him and he can deceive and ruin people by 
it. Can you not see that for one to believe 
that he can fall, and that not to fall he must 
live aright all the time — and he does live 
aright all the time — he cannot fall, and hence 
will be sure to reach heaven at last? It does 
not sound like the devil at all, and it does 
not suit him at all.'' 

Now, having seen that the side of falling 
from grace answered the scriptures and 
points of the side that one cannot fall from 
grace and be lost forever more intelligently 
than that side answered those of falling from 
grace; and, too, seeing that the side of fall- 
ing from grace has a twofold chance of 



62 Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 

heaven, even if the doctrine should be false, 
and that the side that cannot fall from grace 
has no chance of heaven at all if its doctrine 
should be false; and also seeing that the 
devil preached successfully to the hurt of 
our whole race the doctrine that one cannot 
fall from grace, and that he never has and 
never does preach the doctrine that one can 
lose his religion, and that not to lose it he 
must live aright — our inevitable conclusion, 
therefore, is that falling from grace, or apos- 
tasy, is the Scriptural doctrine, and that the 
doctrine that one cannot fall from grace and 
be lost is not a Scriptural doctrine. 

There are degrees to which one may fall 
and return, but there is a degree to which, if 
one fall, he cannot return. Paul made this 
clear when he said : ^^For it is impossible for 
those who were once enlightened, and have 
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made 
partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted 
the good word of God, and the powers of 
the world to come, if they shall fall away, to 
renew them again unto repentance; seeing 
they crucify to themselves the Son of God 



Cannot and Can Fall from Grace. 63 

afresh, and put him to an open shame." 
(Heb. vi. 4-6.) "When one reaches that fatal 
degree he is gone, and there is no return. 
May God forbid that any Christian should 
be so unfortunate as to reach that fatal de- 
gree! The surest way of one's not reaching 
it is not to fall at all, but to remain faithful 
to God until he is in heaven. 

A consistent Methodist is one who knows 
that he has religion and that he can lose it, 
but that he must not lose it; and that he 
may not lose it, he must live aright and be- 
lieve aright. Any one who believes and lives 
the Methodist doctrine of falling from grace 
cannot miss heaven. Let every one believe 
it and live it I 



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